Jul 14, 2010

Keeping up the momentum

Wouldn't you know that as soon as I get determined to start posting WODs again, I get sick and am unable to WOD?

The virus from hell has got me people. And I say "hell" because I talk a lot, and I have lost the use of my voice for the past 2 days.

However, in an interesting development, I think that's what motivated me to blog my entire WOD backlog yesterday -- if I can't talk out loud, then I can at least "talk" here. :)

All this aside, I do have some links and information I've been saving to share. So I'm going to do that instead of WOD post to try to keep my blogging momentum going. :)

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First, a shout out to Albany CrossFit! I have been subscribed to their WOD blog for a few months now, so of course when they asked for comments from readers I chimed in to say "THANK YOU!". Cause I love their multi-level scaling options -- it's really a great hands-on example of how WODs should be scaled, both up and down, and they are awesome for sharing their knowledge with the Internets.

And guess what they did? They linked to my blog! Too fun! Thanks again guys (and gals) of ACF -- I will most definitely be dropping in for a WOD next time I'm up north visiting my friend at Cornell. :)

For those who don't live near a CF box, or want to try to start CrossFitting at home, I would definitely recommend the ACF WODs over the main site WODs. Yes, there's the BrandX scaling for main site, but when I was a CF newbie looking at the BrandX boards they succeeded more at making me feel intimidated, rather than convincing me that CF was something I was capable of doing by way of scaling.

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Next, I've added a few links to my "Blogs" list in the sidebar, and also updated the title to: "Bad Ass CrossFit Ladies". Much more appropriate. :)

Disclaimer: I'm not subscribed to all of those blogs; I keep my feed reader to a minimum of "must reads" otherwise I spend 3 hours a day over there. Anyway, back to my point. Anytime I come across a woman blogging about doing CrossFit, I always add her to my list. As my friend Andrea pointed out in a comment yesterday, there aren't a whole lot of women posting results to the main site, and it can be hard to find women who are at your level to compare yourself to. So if you're looking for CrossFit ladies who blog, check out the list!

If you feel like the WOD results that I post are at the "level" that you're looking to read about, definitely check out Angie's blog. With her dedication the last few months, she is blowing me away in the areas of gymnastics and strength. Way to go girl, you are one of my role models. :-D

And if you need inspiration to keep doing CF even without a box nearby, go visit Erin or KD -- they both manage while living overseas, so no more excuses. :)

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During my little hiatus, I had some interesting interactions with my father in regards to my training.

First, he was flat-out disturbed that I wanted to purchase a 45# kettlebell. This conversation happened on the phone -- he saw some kb's for sale at a local store, and was calling to tell me the price.

Dad: I picked up that one you said you wanted. And it was heavy.
Me: It's fine Dad, I use a 35# one all the time.
Dad: It just seemed really heavy. [dramatic pause]
Me: Yes I know, it's fine.
Dad: OK, well I just don't want you to hurt yourself...

*sigh*

The more disturbing conversation happened a couple days later.

Dad: You don't want to get too muscular, because when you stop exercising the muscle will turn into fat.*
Me: Dad, hold on, muscle doesn't turn into fat. As you lose muscle mass, your metabolism decreases and your store more of the calories you eat as fat.
Dad: Well, you just don't want to get too muscular, that's all, it doesn't look right.
Me: Do you think I am at that point?
Dad: Maybe getting close to it.
Me: Well, I don't care what you think about my appearance, I'm happy with it and my husband is happy with it and his opinion is the only one I care about.
Sis: [[quickly breaks in with small talk to diffuse the situation]]

*WTF? "When you stop exercising" -- as if it's a phase? Way to make negative predictions about the end of my healthy habits dad!

I'll admit that I kind of pushed this one along, by asking that loaded question "am I close", but I just couldn't stop myself. I wanted to know if he really felt the way I thought he did. And he does.

So yeah, great conversation, huh? I can't believe this is the same man who attended nearly every soccer game I played in during high school, and made a trip to DC to watch me run the Marine Corps Marathon 10K twice. Where in his brain is this CrossFit thing different? And as for commenting on my body composition, it would've been more appropriate for him to express concern about the 20# of fat I put on last summer, than to be critical of lean muscle mass that I've gained! Argh!

I probably wouldn't have blogged about this (I did tweet it right after it happened) if I hadn't read this article from Gubernatrix this morning: Femininity and Muscle.

You know how sometimes you have this great idea bouncing around in your head, but you just feel like you can't quite get it out, and then someone wiser than you says exactly what you wanted to say? That's how I feel about Gubernatrix and Lisbeth Darsh. I think they are secretly related.

8 comments:

Does your dad know my mom??? I swear my mom said the same thing to me...along the lines of "when I STOP exersizing, the muscle will turn to fat" The other night as I did NOT let my daughter have her second ice cream sandwich (mom was telling me just give it to her)...it hit me, "NO WONDER" God damned mixed messages. your either eating too much or not enough. too fat or thin and concieted. sigh. hope to god my daughter feels 100% support. you may have inspired my next blog post.

I could kiss you right now-1. I can never find female CrossFitters! THANK YOU for having a list of them- GENIUS IDEA!2. I do the BrandX scaled workouts but I'll definitely check out that website you recommended. 3. People say to me, "You don't want to get too big." And I say, "No, YOU don't want me to get too big but I am not concerned at all with 'my size'."

I say I have "man shoulders." But I don't care! :) I'm sorry about that conversation with your dad.

It's insane to me how close our stats are... I didn't pay that close attention until I read your comment about them. I might work to doing 1 rep maxes and post them on the side of my blog like you do. I think that's really cool. I can't believe you can do so many of the WODs as RX'd though! You're my hero! :)

Your Dad and my Dad are polar opposites. My Dad was doing Crossfit with me and I loved him all the more for it. Your Dad needs to understand what a great thing you are doing for you, mentally and physically, and also (if you choose to) for your future children. What a great role model you are and will continue to be! He's better prepare himself! Next thing he knows he's going to be cheering you on from the sidelines at the Crossfit games! :)

Daniel and his buddy Sam went and did a WOD at Albany Crossfit a couple of years ago when we lived in VT. Kicked their butts. And they loved it! Daniel was just talking about it a couple of night ago during our workout.

I have gained at least 5 pounds of muscle in the last couple of months. I love that I am getting stronger. I feel so GOOD. My friend mentioned to me that as a runner, she loves being lean. She doesn't want big legs... oh, but I do! And I want scary arms too. I want to be able to live my life fully. I don't want to be held back because I can only run (or swim or bike... you get the idea) and I can't "lift heavy shit" as Coach says.

Anyway. Daniel's been doing Crossfit since '06, I've been actively doing Crossfit for 8 months, we're doing WODs with the kids on a regular basis. We're in it for the long haul, scary arms and all! :)

Yay!!! I'm a badass now! :-) Thank you for the compliments. I'm so glad you're blogging again - I love reading your WOD results because we are similar in times on a lot of things, and strength.

I giggled about the conversation with your dad. I wonder what my dad would have said about me doing CrossFit. He's been gone for 16 years now, but just before he passed away, I was skydiving and he thought I was insane. Sometimes men, especially dad's, have a different image of what their little girls should and shouldn't be doing. Keep doing what you're doing - he might come around and see that it's the best thing for you one of these days.

My mother does the same shit to me. I'm not falling for it, but boy is it ever a mindfuck. I mean seriously, is it better if I'm 60# overweight like she is, taking high blood pressure meds instead of losing the weight and staying off the meds?

Quotes

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."- Coach John Wooden

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."- Victor Frankl

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

- 2 Timothy 1:7 (New International Version)

“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”

- Carlos Casteneda

"Even though I have set these goals, they are not why I Crossfit. I Crossfit because I love my body. I Crossfit because it helps me to experience the present moment (my meditation). I have goals, but in every workout I am committed to loving and accepting my body's current abilities. I believe with every part of me, that the only way to truly attain "what we want" is by accepting and taking joy in what we already have."- Stephanie

"you always stress out about yourself but you always pull something spectacular out of your ass"- gchat with ThomASS